Onion sets from seeds

12 years ago

Due to the wet spring and a seedling failure, we were not able to direct sow our onion seed until too late. Has anyone tried to harvest the (small) bulbs and hold them over for use as sets the following year?

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Comments (5)

obrionusa
12 years ago
Sounds like more trouble than what its worth.
wolverine1012
Original Author
12 years ago
I agree that what I am proposing is probably not efficient, but otherwise it appears that all
I'll yield will be a lot of green onions. Does anyone know how onion sets are raised and held?
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Jimster, my starts-from-seed also caught up and surpassed the bulblet "sets" that I planted. I really think that if one can navigate the seed starting and transplanting hurdles (which are totally necessary in the north) then you get some really nice onions in the end. I bet you will be pleased with your purchase. Thanks for mentioning day-length, pn. I planted different onions in San Diego than I am planting here. I can't remember which kind they were exactly, because it was ten years ago I was just starting out and didn't write everything down yet. But I did look things up before I planted. Anyway they bulbed up at the proper time in May, and these Bastilles from Stokes are bulbing up at their proper time, at the beginning of August. (They are listed as an early variety of storage onion, 100 days. I went with Stokes seeds because they are in Buffalo, New York, and often list a plant's north-worthiness. I don't think they even have a granex-type onion offered.)
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onion seeds and sets
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The odds of producing your own sets and having it work out are very low, you'd be better off starting off fresh next season and starting the onions earlier. Also make sure you have the right type for your area. You could also consider ordering bunches of starts (or buying them at a local store if they stock them), those should be at the correct size and ship/be available at the right time of year for you to get good results. Your seed grown plants should be the same size as purchased starts at the time that starts are available. If the onions are an OP variety, you could hold over a few and they'll produce seed for you next year. Onions are very confusing regarding day length, types and planting dates. I'd suggest searching for publications on commercial onion production in your area (or a similar climate area). Here in CA, UCDavis has extensive information on commercial crops that is very helpful to gardeners as well.
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Comments (3)
Concur with Yopper. Size is dependent on variety. Sounds like you want a large long day variety. Sets are long day varieties, but tend to be small to medium size varieties. As stated Dixondale has a good selection as does Browns Omaha Plant Farms. I expect plants are also available in Canada but I can't find one just now. Stokes offers a large number of varieties as seed. They offer 10 varieties of the Spanish which is a Jumbo sweet long day onion. If you can start seeds about 10 weeks ahead of your last average frost date, you should be able to grow from seeds.
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Onions Sets or seed?
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Comments (8)
I too use Dixondale farms. Before switching to them I bought plants from Piedmont Plant Company. Be sure to order the variety that grows best in your Latitude. Onions are daylight sensitive. Onions are heavy feeders and require up to 1 inch of water a week. I used Copra for a bunching onion at the market. I also raised Walla Wallas, Sweet sandwich ( stores well right into the next year and gets sweeter after the new year)Big Daddy, and Candy For a really big mild onion I buy Ailsa Craig, although they are more suseptible to weather and do not keep very long. I too have grown from seed and if you want to start them by January 29th ( my birthday) It takes a long time for those blades of grass to get large enough to set outside.I used to transplant seedlings in the field the last week of April when the seedlings were large and easier to handle Good luck with your project and have fun.
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sosusie
12 years ago
If you can find an old "Joy of Gardening" by Dick Raymond, he devotes a whole page to doing that very thing. Basically he sows seeds mid July, or 4 months before your hard frost. After the frost he pulls them and lets dry. Doesn't wash or take off the tops as they fall off as they dry. He says it is very important to store them in SMALL mesh bags so they can get the air circulation they need to keep. Then stores them in a cool dry place, checking every few weeks and discarding any that have sprouted or rotted.
SOS
catherine_nm
12 years ago
Here's an article

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Onion Sets
wolverine1012
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the great responses. It looks, though, since mine are already in and up that it may be too early for use as sets next spring.

Maybe I'll try any way, or maybe I can find someone who REALLY likes green onions.

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Onion sets from seeds

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obrionusa

wolverine1012
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Onion sets from seeds

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obrionusa

wolverine1012Original Author

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sosusie

catherine_nm

wolverine1012Original Author

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wolverine1012
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